The council has now decided to give the work to an in-house team.

Last February city officials said two firms, its in-house company Kingston Works Ltd and Kier would share the work in the wake of the collapse of Connaught.

Now Hull City Council has said: “After a thorough assessment of its ability to achieve best value in terms of price and quality, Hull City Council’s cabinet has arranged for its repairs and maintenance to be carried out by Kingstown Works, a company wholly-owned by the council .

“The decision has been made to offer KWL the work for a 10-year period from April 2012 with a five-year break clause and a continuous assessment process to ensure it meets value for money thresholds.”

The arrangement will cover Hull’s entire housing stock and offer “long-term continuity on repairs and maintenance, which has year on year savings built in to offer best value”.

Connaught workers were previously transferred to the two contractors when the maintenance specialist went under.

Kingstown Works will now negotiate with Kier about the transfer of workers.